Bahamas to create Bahamian digital dollar

The Bahamas Central Bank is preparing the creation of the Bahamian digital dollar to enable more financial inclusion and economic growth, to show the world that the jurisdiction is innovative and technology-oriented and is committed to anti-money laundering, said the participants of the recent Opalesque Bahamas Roundtable.

"We are very excited to be evaluating the Digital Asset & Registered Exchange Bill (DARE Bill), which was presented by the Securities Commission for public consultation several weeks ago," said Brian Jones, managing director at Leno, an asset management and investment funds platform. "Christina Rolle, the Executive Director of Securities Commission has been engaging with us on the BSFB FinTech working group to discuss the ins and outs of the Act."

Crypto-assets are a broadly unregulated space, he added. But several jurisdictions have take steps to increase transparency and consistency, "and we are now seeing a more concerted development of global standards starting to coalesce." With the DARE Bill, The Bahamas can be a frontrunner in "registering legitimate international token offerings, in the form of security and utility token offerings, that can serve a variety of purposes."

That will provide an opportunity for investors to unlock liquidity in illiquid markets, as for example, private equity, where tokens and digital assets can fin......................